Sir Stiggington
Well-Known Member
Yeah, smart move by him...
Basically he was trying to force Alonso into overtaking him behind a SC car. I enjoyed that.
Hamilton's driving to be investigated
Lewis Hamilton is facing a stewards' investigation into his driving while under the safety car in the Japanese Grand Prix.
The officials are understood to be considering whether Hamilton could have contributed to the collision between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel that took the duo out of second and third places during the second caution period at Fuji.
"New evidence has been brought to the stewards attention and they are currently investigating the matter," an FIA spokesman told autosport.com.
Vettel said at the time that he had hit Webber while distracted by Hamilton slowing unexpectedly.
?I was exiting turn 13 and looking at Lewis, because all of a sudden he seemed to slow down really much and I thought he had a problem at that stage," Vettel told ITV Sport's Louise Goodman in Japan.
?And by the time I was looking back to the front I was already crashing into Mark?s rear end.?
In today's pre-race press conference at Fuji, Webber - who had originally pinned the blame for the crash firmly on Vettel - also suggested that Hamilton had not been accelerating and braking unexpectedly behind the safety car.
"It definitely contributed to Sebastian hitting me up the back because he wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing, clearly," Webber said.
However after winning at Fuji, Hamilton said it had been necessary to brake sharply because of the braking material McLaren had been using - and suggested it was Webber whose driving had been erratic.
"We just needed to keep the heat in the brakes," he said.
"I was running quite a hard compound of brakes, so if I did light braking, I would have glazed the brakes.
"So I was making sure there was a little bit of a gap, maximising the gap that you're allowed, and use it to my benefit.
"It was tough because Mark behind me was just too close, and all of a sudden he braked really hard and I don't know what happened ? someone ran into him.
"I was constantly on the radio to my engineers to tell the Red Bull team to get Mark to make a little more of a gap because I couldn't go any faster because the pace car was in front of me, so I was trying to keep the distance with him and then I'd move over because I couldn't see Mark and then he'd just appear alongside me, so he kept out-braking himself.
"I felt something was going to happen, and I guess my instincts told me right."
Errrrr....If Mark or Sebastian can't adapt to a car ahead slowing down and speeding up they shouldn't be racing drivers. They shouldn't be allowed to drive road cars. The 5 car lengths rule has to go out the window with conditions like Fuji.
Maybe Webber and Vettel are looking to get picked up by Ferrari by following their moaning policies.
Q: (Ann Giuntini - L?Equipe) To Mark and Sebastian: without any desire to get into politics, would you say that Hamilton?s manoeuvres in the last race were not very far from being unfair or not under the agreement you generally have?
MW: I think he did a shit job behind the safety car. He did a shit job and that?s it. He spoke in the drivers? briefing about how good a job he was going to do and then he did the job the opposite way, so we know for next time, it?s no problem.
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